İHD Co-Chair Öztürk Türkdoğan has appeared before the court. The court has decided to send the file to the prosecutor’s office for the final opinion on the case to be filed. The trial was adjourned for two weeks

HAYRİ DEMİR, ANKARA

The second hearing in the trial of Human Rights Association (İHD) Co-Chair Öztürk Türkdoğan on charges of “publicly denigrating the state of the Republic of Turkey” due to the article titled “Adalet ve Hakikat İçin Ermeni Soykırımı’nın İnkarına Son” (“End the Denial of the Armenian Genocide for Justice and the Truth”) that appeared on the association’s website on 24 April 2017 was held at the Ankara 24th Criminal Court of First Instance.

Türkdoğan and his lawyers attended the hearing, which P24 monitored. Many representatives of various civil society organizations also observed the hearing.

A court official who stated it was not allowed to take notes on smartphones told journalists “Take notes by hand.”

“We want to confront the past”

Delivering his defense following identification, Türkdoğan said that the statement subject to the indictment was still on the association’s website. Türkdoğan said that since its establishment in 1986, the İHD has worked to protect human rights and freedoms, report on rights violations and similar undertakings. He added “The İHD stands against genocide wherever it may take place. We view what was done in 1915 as genocide. This was not our first statement on the matter. Our branches and headquarters have issued several statements on this matter. If something is a crime, it is a crime and the crime of genocide does not become something else over time. Calling the incidents ‘the Armenian Genocide’ can never be a crime. This needs to be taken up within the scope of freedom of thought. We want to confront the past.”

Interrupting Türkdoğan’s speech, the judge indicated that he had examined the court file and said, “So you say ‘I did not commit a crime.’ As you stated in writing, you say the statement falls under the freedom of thought and is not a crime. Do not worry, I have read your entire defense.”

Türkdoğan went on to say that the government viewed the issue of the Armenian Genocide conjecturally and added, “Sometimes the government undertakes no investigation or litigation when we say ‘genocide.’ Sometimes it resorts to both investigations and litigation. If something is a crime, it is a crime and does not become something else over time. This is never a crime.” Türkdoğan finally emphasized that they published the same statement subject to the trial every year on different dates.

Türkdoğan’s lawyer Kerem Altıparmak referred to decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and of the Constitutional Court on judgments in cases filed with similar charges.

Upon the judge interrupting and telling him to “Be calm” while speaking, Altıparmak said “I am calm. You be calm too.”

Altıparmak said “The Turkey of 2023 cannot be a country where the expression ‘Armenian Genocide’ is put on trial. We request an ruling for immediate acquittal” and concluded his statement.

The prosecutor requested that the case be filed with the prosecutor’s office for the final opinion on the case to be set up.

The judge accepted the prosecutor’s requested and adjourned the trial until 16 March 2023.

Background of the case

An investigation was launched into İHD Chjair Öztürk Türdoğan regarding his article titled “Adalet ve Hakikat İçin Ermeni Soykırımı’nın İnkarına Son” (“End the Denial of the Armenian Genocide for Justice and the Truth”) that appeared on the association’s website on 24 April 2017, that was claimed to have been identified following a complaint.

The Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office had asked for the Ministry of Justice to grant permission for an investigation into Türkdoğan on suspicion of “publicly denigrating the Turkish nation and the state of the Republic of Turkey.” The ministry only allowed for an investigation into the suspicion of “publicly denigrating the state of the Republic of Turkey” concerning the statement.

Following the investigation, an indictment of eight pages was submitted on 20 December 2021. The indictment referred to articles of international conventions that guarantee the freedom of expression and the ECtHR’s case law on the freedom of expression. Nevertheless, the prosecutor said that the statement subject to the charges could not be evaluated under the scope of freedom of expression.

The indictment also touched on the activities of the İHD, which was established in 1986 and stated that “a civil society organization founded according to the laws of the Republic of Turkey should work against the interests of the Turkish nation and the state of the Republic of Turkey is unthinkable.”

The indictment demanded sentencing for Türkdoğan, on the grounds that the “Statement and claims belittle the Turkish nation before history and the international community, are of a nature that publicly denigrate the state of the Republic of Turkey and the Turkish nation and that they went beyond the limits of the freedom of expression.”

The Ankara 24th Criminal Court of First Instance admitted the indictment and set the date for a hearing on 15 December 2023. However, the court judge was promoted 15 days before the hearing date and appointed as Prosecutor for the Ankara Regional Court of Justice. Therefore, a judge on duty oversaw the hearing for which Türkdoğan and his attorney submitted an excuse not to attend. The trial was then adjourned to 2 March 2023 so that Türkdoğan and his counsel could deliver the defense.